Laptop with best screen (pref sub $1k)

There's some pretty crappy laptop screens out there and there aren't too many places you can see and compare laptop screens let alone run programs on them to test (especially when living over 40 mins from the nearest JB/HN/OW etc), so I look to our esteemed community here for some help please.

Looking to do light CAD stuff (but not super complex - I don't need an i7 with the highest clock speed) and some photo editing. I have got by with a 5 year old i3 and it has reasonably sufficient grunt for what I need, I just want a better screen mainly and possibly the ability to connect to a 27" Dell Ultrasharp occasionally without losing too much quality.

Is there a new laptop that would fit this bill under $1k? If not please link a suggestion.

excellent quality screen, as in wide viewing angles and colour gamut? those usually come with mid to high end laptops. i think these days, those command at least $1500 rrp.

Click to expand...

Yep. You are spot on on all fronts.
I had a chance to get into town the other day and went to JB, TGG, HN, OW - my gosh these manufacturers don't make it easy!
Each store has a similar, but not identical, spec of any given particular model of the brands they stock. I think I saw the "same" model at 3 different stores each with a slightly different model number, same screen (apparently), same CPU and GPU, just different RAM and HDD or SSD size, yet the screens looked quite different. I checked the brightness levels, device manager (to make sure the GPU was actually installed) and compared the same HD video, static picture, text - 1 store even had 2 similar models within a few laptops of each other and there was a marked difference even though the specs that counted were supposed to be identical.

It's really hard to find reviews on some laptops as well because there are so many freaking variations on the one base model.

I have considered second hand and it seems I can get something decent for about $500 but quite a few years old. I'm still trying to weigh up whether I can justify that much on a used laptop.
Decisions, decisions

I checked the brightness levels, device manager (to make sure the GPU was actually installed) and compared the same HD video, static picture, text - 1 store even had 2 similar models within a few laptops of each other and there was a marked difference even though the specs that counted were supposed to be identical.

Click to expand...

Apparently there is a dark screen issue with the 1809 feature update which affects some computers. This could be why there is a difference as some may have updated and some haven't. I might have to try this next if I get the chance. Some laptops seem to be locked down pretty hard though depending on the shop you go to.